


By the Firelight

by newdog14



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Maribat - Fandom, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Could be read as pre-relationship timari, F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I needed an ex and that just happened to be him, MariBat, Maribat March, minor adrien bashing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 23:34:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29832615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/newdog14/pseuds/newdog14
Summary: Tim was tired enough that when he first saw the girl dancing around a small bonfire on a rooftop he thought he might be imagining it.For Maribat March Day 3: Warmth
Relationships: Past Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug - Relationship, Tim Drake & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 4
Kudos: 102
Collections: Maribat March





	By the Firelight

**Author's Note:**

> So, I wasn't planning to do this prompt, but then we were chatting in the Maribat discord about how to answer it, and Ethel Phantom (who is a wonderful author btw) suggested "set them on fire", and, well, I didn't do that, but the idea did spark this little ficlet.

Tim was tired enough that when he first saw the girl dancing around a small bonfire on a rooftop he thought he might be imagining it. It was late, he’d finished his patrol route, and he hadn’t slept in at least 36 hours. Then the girl dumped a box of photos into the fire, sending up sparks and bits of paper into the air with a clang, and he reassessed. Even with a fire it seemed too cold and too late for a civilian to want to be on their roof, but she didn’t look like a rogue either. Certainly not any of the ones he knew, and for all that she was illegally holding a bonfire, it seemed contained enough, and she had a fire extinguisher with her.

He crept closer, keeping to the shadows as he tried to assess her threat level. As he got closer he could hear music playing, some angry break up song, by the sound of it. She spun around again, and he caught sight of her face in the firelight. She looked like a mess. She’d clearly been crying, if the running mascara was anything to go by, and her hair was down in mussed curls, like she’d done it up nicely but had been running her fingers through it. She reached down and picked up a stuffed black cat, running her fingers over it sadly before chucking it into the fire too.

Tim looked at the remaining pile of objects next to her, taking in the bag of clothing, a couple of scrapbooks, a pile of magazines. He had a feeling he knew what the girl was doing now.

“Are you alright, Miss?” he called out, finally stepping into the light. She jumped in surprise, and he watched her eyes as the surprised fear faded into recognition, then narrowed in suspicion.

“Do I  _ look  _ alright to you?” she snapped. Despite her angry tone and crossed arms though, she looked like she was trying to curl into herself. 

“No, but that seemed rude to point out, so I thought I’d ask instead,” he answered, walking closer, but not so closely that she would feel threatened. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

“Don’t you have better things to do with your night?” she asked, switching topics entirely. “Stopping crime, maybe?”

“Technically, setting rooftop fires  _ is _ a crime,” he answered. She tensed up, and he could see the beginnings of fear in her eyes, which was the last thing he wanted, so he kept speaking. “But you look like you’re being safe about it, so I suppose I can let you continue, assuming you’ve got good reason to be breaking the law?”

She relaxed again, though she was now watching him warily. Then she looked back at her pile and started dropping the magazines into the flames one by one. “My ex stood me up. On our anniversary. Couldn’t be bothered to answer my texts, or phone calls, but he still updated his Instagram story from the club he’s getting shitfaced at.”

“Sounds like a dick,” Tim offered. “You’re burning his stuff then?”

“Everything that’ll catch fire,” she said, dropping the last magazine into the pile. 

“Sounds like he deserves it,” Tim said, watching as she started on the clothes. “Any way I can help?”

“Grab a bag?” she offered, clearly surprised by the offer. Tim came fully into the light now, and started tossing clothes into the fire. Some of them were certainly men’s clothing, but others looked like they might have been hers. They were well made and formal, and each had a tag labeled Agreste on them. They spent a few minutes burning things in silence, and then she laughed. “I can’t believe I’m having an illegal bonfire with a vigilante.”

“Perks of being a vigilante: I am already on the wrong side of the law, so what’s a few more laws broken?” he said, and she laughed again. He really liked her laugh. It was warm and bright, almost like the fire they were feeding, but better.

They ran out of clothes, and all that remained were the scrapbooks. She picked up the first, her demeanor dropping again as she ran her fingers along the cover with a sigh. “I spent so much time thinking that my plan was set, and now everything’s changed and I’m never going to get back to where things were before.”

“Maybe that’s not so bad though?” Tim said. She looked up at him sharply and he rushed to continue. “I just mean, now you can find something better. Make a new plan.”

“I guess so,” she said, dropping the book into the fire and scattering sparks again. She picked up the next one, and didn’t hesitate to send it in after the first. She cracked a slightly bitter smile. “Why not? New city, new job, new plan.”

“Welcome to Gotham, I suppose,” Tim said. “The only city in the world where vigilantes participate in illegal bonfires.”

She laughed again, and this time her smile persisted as they stood in comfortable silence. At least until the flames burned low enough that the fire stopped giving out enough heat to keep the night chill away. “It’s getting late enough to be early, I should get inside, and you probably need to be getting home. I’m sorry to keep you up like this.”

“No need to apologize, I’m the one who decided to stay,” he said. “It was nice meeting you, Miss.”

“Marinette,” she said, smiling brightly. “And it was nice meeting you too, Red Robin." 


End file.
